Trinkets, candles and a football shirt have been 'taken in broad daylight' from the memorial site of murdered Swindon teenager Owen Dunn.

Owen was just 18 when he died from a single stab wound to his heart caused by a machete on December 4, 2022.

His loved ones created a memorial site in Mazurek Way where Owen tragically died, which they regularly visit with flowers and trinkets to pay their respects and show he will never be forgotten.

But on Tuesday, at around 11:40am, everything was taken from the memorial, including a Liverpool shirt, a football and a picture of Owen.

Read More: Owen Dunn's family give emotional appearance on BBC Breakfast

Owen’s mum Zoe Mitchell said: “I was angry first of all but as I was telling my family, I was getting upset. I’ve had his friends phoning me up in tears and upset and one of his friends was going through the bins trying to see if someone had chucked the stuff in the bins.

“It went missing on Tuesday, his friend went down on Wednesday to put some flowers down and everything was gone. It’s around one little post, it isn’t bothering anybody. Someone has taken it all down but we’re going back up there on Saturday to fill it back up again.

(Image: Zoe Mitchell)

“I don’t see why people are causing a commotion about a little bit around a post. People who live nearby have looked at their Ring doorbell footage but it’s grainy. In about ten to 15 minutes, they stripped it and it was all gone, but we can’t see who it actually is.”

Zoe said that she was not going to bother reporting the incident to the police because she doubted they would be able to do anything.

Read More: Murdered teenager's family install knife amnesty bin in Swindon

She added: “We did have a message to the Owen’s World page saying it’s about time we got on with our lives but that’s easy for them to say, it’s not them that’s lost someone and my son took his last breath there.

(Image: Zoe Mitchell) “It gives my family comfort to go there at certain times of the year like when he passed so why shouldn’t we be allowed to do that?

“A lot of his friends have started putting flowers back there now. We haven’t forgotten him, don’t say we should forget him and move on. I hope they never lose anyone in a tragedy like that and see what it feels like.”

“I’m going to be defiant and if they want to keep taking it down, I’m going to keep putting it back up.”

Help support trusted local news

Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/subscribe/

As a digital subscriber, you will get:            

  • Unlimited access to the Swindon Advertiser website        
  • Advert-light access             
  • Reader rewards             
  • Full access to our app